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Publication of the Review report on contributions of the MIVD to targeting

News item | 23-02-2017 | 10:54

The CTIVD has investigated contributions of the Dutch Military and Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) to targeting. The background to this report is the parliamentary debate that has been held in recent years on the potential use of Dutch intelligence for the unlawful use of force by other states.

In this report, the term targeting refers to the process that can result in the (lethal) use of force by armed forces in order to achieve a strategic objective within the context of a (military) operation.

Conclusions on policy and practice

  1. The legal framework applied by the MIVD in its current intelligence provision policy is insufficiently focused on the risk that this can contribute to the unlawful use of force.
  2. The MIVD has purposefully made a contribution to targeting within the scope of two military missions (in which the Netherlands participated). These instances of intelligence provision were in accordance with the law.
  3. Except for military missions in which the Netherlands participated, the MIVD has not provided intelligence to foreign services for the express purpose of contributing to targeting.
  4. In spite of the MIVD not intending to contribute to targeting, some of the intelligence provided to foreign services could in principle be used for that purpose. The CTIVD has not found any concrete indications that the MIVD has accepted an unacceptable risk of a contribution to the unlawful use of force.

The CTIVD cannot answer the question of whether (lethal) force has been used as a result of intelligence of the MIVD. The foreign recipients of the intelligence are not accountable in that regard and the CTIVD does not have the power to investigate those recipients. In its investigation at the MIVD, the CTIVD has not encountered any concrete indications that intelligence provided to foreign services (except for military missions in which the Netherlands participated) has been used for the (lethal) use of force.

Legal framework

The CTIVD points to the importance of a clear legal framework for the actions of the MIVD. This report provides a framework as well as guidance to the MIVD for its future actions. 

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